


The First Annual PoPS Games

by Notmarysue



Series: PoPS 30 Day Prompt challenge [15]
Category: The Platoon of Power Squadron (Web Series)
Genre: Capture the Flag, Gen, Post-Series, Prompt Fill, Running, exercise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 17:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12041076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notmarysue/pseuds/Notmarysue
Summary: Exercise made fun...ishPoPS 30 Day Prompt Challenge Day 15 'Run, lady, run'





	The First Annual PoPS Games

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EverythingHurtsAndImDying](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverythingHurtsAndImDying/gifts).



> Apparently, we're already half way through. We're also at the start of week 3. That way faster than any expected. 
> 
> As always if you're finding this in the tags and want to know what this PoPS thing is all about copy this into your search bar and start watching: https://youtu.be/solv0G2UQcs

Being born with powers came with many 'gifts'. One was the higher resistance to other people's powers, a trait that was greatly appreciated in adult life. Others included higher tolerance to pain and increased strength. These two abilities made crime fighting considerably easier. However, they didn't cover all the bases. More often than not there was still something criminals had that they didn't, speed and stamina. That's where Brian came in.

Brian had never run a day in his life. He was built and programmed in peak physical condition and it was impossible for him to end up letting his fitness slip. He'd never be out of breath or break a sweat, those were human problems. However, since he was supposed to be the world's most trustworthy spy. He had to be able to sell the lie. There was always that pesky question of 'how do you manage to stay so in shape?'. So he was programmed with as many workout tips that could be crammed into his hard drive, workout tips that he could pass onto the others. 

They gathered in the local park. Victor decided to stay home, he could watch them embarrass themselves whenever he wanted, there was no need to go outside to see it, so it was just the five of them. They stood in the middle of an open grass field. Virgina, Jonas, Donald, and Sebastian all formed a semi-straight line allowing Brian to keep an eye on them all. He had to make sure they didn't run off and do their own thing. It was like babysitting, a watchful eye was always necessary.

"Hello everyone and welcome to the first annual PoPS games" Brian awkwardly announced. It was times like this that he was really grateful nobody expected him to say the full team name. 

"Annual?" Asked Virginia. That seemed a little counterproductive. If they wanted to get fit then exercising once a year probably wasn't going to cut it.

"Don't pretend like this a thing, dude" commented Jonas.

"Okay, I won't. Now I thought we'd start with some stretches, then a short run or a few push ups" explained Brian.

"Dear Lord" mumbled Donald. He could already tell this wasn't going to be his day.

"Then I remembered that it's you I'm dealing with and you'd never do all that without whining. So instead I thought I'd make this fun" he fished into his gray sports bag. They'd seen him pick it up on the way out and none of them knew what was inside. They'd thought about asking but they weren't sure if they actually wanted to know. He pulled out a clear plastic bag full of coloured flags. From that, he took two: one red, one purple. He laid them flat on the ground and continued giving out instructions. "You'll all be in pairs. Jonas with Virginia, Sebastian with Donald. Take one flag per team and hide it. The first team to find the others flag and get it back to me wins"

"So we're playing capture the flag?" Asked Sebastian. 

"Exactly" nodded Brian.

"Oh this is going to be easy" smiled Jonas. A plan was already beginning to form. He could just read his opponents minds, get the location of the flag, tell Virginia, and let her stop time in order to collect it. They would literally be able to walk right up to the end point and seize victory.

"I should probably mention that you're not allowed to use your powers" Brian added. Jonas sighed, his plan would have totally worked.

The two teams went off in opposite directions: Sebastian and Donald took the red flag, Virginia and Jonas took with the purple one. These two colours weren't particularly easy to hide among the brown and black dirt. All the same, they were determined to try. Virginia made her way up the largest tree she could find, ignoring Jonas telling her not to or to let him climb up there instead, and wrapped it around one of the higher branches. To Jonas relief, she made it down safely and the two of them headed off to win the competition.

Sebastian and Donald, on the other hand, took a completely different approach. Any old chump could put a flag up a tree or in a bush, those were basic summer camp tactics, nobody ever thought of hiding it in plain sight, on the ground. Actually getting a shovel and burying it would probably constitute as cheating in some way. Yet there was absolutely nothing wrong with placing it down and pushing some dirt over it. Add some sticks and leafs for good measure and they had a fool proof disguise.

"This is never going to work" muttered Sebastian.

"It will" Donald insisted "They'll be so busy looking up that they'll walk right over it"

"Whatever. Let's just find their's" she said as she began to lead them away.

Brian watched the two groups pass the start point a total of five times, always empty handed. He started to wonder whether they were just lost and walking around in circles. Finally, after doing essentially nothing, Sebastian and Donald spotted the thin piece of fabric dangling from a branch.

"You should climb up and grab it" suggested Sebastian.

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that again" said Donald firmly.

"Well I'm not getting...I have an idea" she started picking up handfuls of sticks and stones and started hurling them towards the flag. Most of them fell completely flat while a couple skimmed the bottom.

"Come on Sebastian we're going to be here all-" a stone hit hard against against the branch. It shook violently and dropped the flag directly at their feet. "Day"

"We win, let's go" she quickly grabbed the strip from the floor and strode back with pride. Confident that she was ahead of the competition she felt no need to rush.

For Virginia and Jonas capture the flag was beginning to become more of an orentiating exercise than a game. They'd checked bushes, they looked inside bins, they debated whether it had been handed to a stranger to keep hold of it. They wouldn't put it past them. After half an hour they were just lost and irrated.

"Well, this sucks" moaned Jonas. "Maybe we should just go back. It's not like we're ever going to find it"

"Found it" announced Virginia. She saw the red sticking out from the brown. They'd been over this patch of ground already, they must have walked over it several times without even realising it. Their footsteps had loosened the covering. Virginia plucked it out of the dirt and shook off the soil. At last, they could go home.

"Sweet, let's go"

Two parties converged on the path close to the field. Virginia and Sebastian locked eyes, they hadn't realised the others had succeeded.

"You've got the flag" noticed Virginia.

"So have you" replied Sebastian. They stood silent for a brief second, each coming up with the perfect strategy, and both decided on the exact same approach. Run.

At first Brian was bored out of his processor. Yet after a while he began to enjoy the peace and quiet. He sat comfortably with his back against a tree. The sun came to down gently on his face and the cool air blew against him. He closed his eyes and leaned back. Everything was perfect.

And then the stampede started.

He heard a commotion quickly getting closer. He opened a single eye to see what was going on. Virginia and Sebastian rushed towards him at an alarming speed. He rose to his feet despite the fact he knew there was a high chance of being bowled over. Donald and Jonas jogged not far behind, hardly able to keep up.

"Go, Sebastian, go" shouted Donald.

"Kick her in the shins" called Jonas. "What? Too far?" He asked when he caught Donald giving him a dirty look. 

Sebastian was a competitive girl, always had been, always would be. She'd been so caught in the game that she didn't even realise her laces had come undone. Her legs became tackled in the thread and tripped. Determined to win no matter what she reached out her arm and grabbed Virginia's leg, pulling her towards the ground. Both women fell hard.

"So" said Brian, clapping his hands together. "We calling that a tie?"


End file.
